Bingham: Good evening! I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and welcome to Ask
Ligonier. Have you ever wondered if church membership
is biblical or whether it's appropriate to pray to the Holy Spirit? These are just some of the questions that
were asked on Ask Ligonier, and tonight is your opportunity to put your biblical and
theological questions to our special guest on the Ask Ligonier team. So if you'd like to submit a question tonight,
you can do so by connecting with Ligonier Ministries on social media, send us a message
on Facebook, a tweet on Twitter using the hashtag #askligonier, or leave a comment on
the live stream. So, who is our guest this evening? Well, he's a friend of Ligonier Ministries. He spoke recently at our Atlanta Conference. He's also the pastor and teacher at Shiloh
Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. He's the author of numerous books, and he's
the host of the "On Preaching" podcast. Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. it is a pleasure to have you
with us tonight! Charles: Thank you, Nathan. It's a joy to be with you. Bingham: Well, we both live in the live in
the lightning capital of the United States here in Florida, so it seems appropriate to
begin with a lightning round. Are you game to begin with a lightning round
tonight? Charles: Let's go for it! Bingham: Okay, so the rules of the lightning
round, we like to try and keep the answers to ninety seconds or less. Okay. But before we jump into it, I want to remind
you if you do have a question, reach out to us on social media. Again, that's sending us a message on Facebook,
using Twitter and the #askligonier, or putting a comment in the live stream. Okay, well the first question for the lightning
round is from Morgan on Facebook. And Morgan would like to know, should the
good news be heard with joy or with dread? Charles: Yes. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ
is indeed good news about salvation, but it addresses the bad news of our sin and our
guilt before God. And so, there is this sense in which the good
news or glad tidings of the gospel is good news, bad news, worse news, all of those at
the same time. The bad news is that we are sinners separated
from a holy God, who we will have to give an account to. The worse news is that there is nothing we
can do to reach God's righteous standard, and that leads us to the good news of the
saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ through His death at the cross and resurrection from
the dead. And so, really to embrace the good news of
the gospel is to hear it in its conviction of sin and its hope of salvation. Bingham: We have a question here from Instagram. They're asking, "Can a Christian practice
self-defense?" Charles: Can a Christian practice self-defense? Bingham: Yeah. Charles: I do believe that a Christian can
practice self-defense. I don't particularly come to any particular
Scriptures for or against that come to my mind right now, but the conviction of the
Scriptures, where in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks about not retaliating, is a sense
in where we're to live in obedience and selflessness, but I don't think that is a statement against
the rights that we have. In the Ten Commandments, we are told that
we can have private ownership and those related principles, I would say, make it fair for
us to guard and protect ourselves and our families. Bingham: Okay, we've got another question
here. Avery on Instagram wants to know, "How can
a Christian deepen his or her understanding of their own sinfulness?" Charles: Yeah, I think the two primary ways
to do that are prayer and the Scriptures. I would give those same two answers for a
lot of areas of spiritual growth, spiritual discipline, spiritual development. I think, first of all, the more that I am
taking in God's Word and God's Word is being for me, James 1:22 through 25, a mirror that
causes me to see myself as I really am before God helps me to recognize my sinfulness and
neediness for the grace of God. And then prayer, particularly prayer that
includes the element of confession, which should be a regular part of the Christian
practice, keeps before me my sinfulness and neediness before God. I think those are the two pillars that help
me to stay on the right path in terms of seeing God as He really is and seeing myself as I
really am. Bingham: Holly on Twitter is asking... oh,
yeah? Charles: Are these... are the answers lightning
fast? Bingham: Yeah, this is great... you're sticking
to the lightning round rules. Charles: Alright, good deal. Bingham: Yeah, yeah. Holly on Twitter is asking, "What would you
say to someone who said using repentance in the gospel presentation adds works to the
gospel?" Charles: No, we are saved by grace through
faith, and it is not our doing. But in Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 make that
clear. But the call of the gospel, particularly from
the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a call to repentance and to belief. It is what the earlier question addressed,
that the good news is both bad news at the same time. And so repentance is the acknowledgment of
my guilt before God. And it is the confession and the relinquishing
of my sin. And then the salvation is my receiving of
His grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Bingham: Another question here, this time
from Facebook, what is your favorite book other than the Bible? Charles: Unfortunately, I am always writing
messages, and so usually it's general commentaries on what I am studying. I spend a lot of time reading on Scripture,
but if I had to pick a book, Knowing God by J.I. Packer. Bingham: I was going to say, what is a passage
of Scripture or area of Scripture you're studying and reading or right now? Charles: Currently, I am studying the Gospel
of Mark, and I think the first statement of Mark's Gospel, "The beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" is the dominating theme, and it has just been a great joy to
week in and week out to be personally just drenching myself in the good news of Jesus
Christ and His authority. Bingham: Another question, this time from
Facebook, "How do you know if you're called to be a pastor?" And perhaps even we can make this the last
question the lightning round, and perhaps you could share with us even how you ended
up in pastoral ministry and then maybe speak to this individual question as well. Charles: Sure. So I think there is, I believe that... I don't believe that the ministry is a vocation;
I believe it's a calling. So I believe very firmly that God calls men
to the ministry. I believe there is a desire associated with
it according to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I also feel that there is this, the word I
use is just this "inescapable burden." From my own life my father advised me, "If
you can keep from preaching, do it." I did not think that that was helpful advice
when he said it, but I understood later what he meant. It's the spirit of what the Apostle Paul says
when he says, "Necessity has been laid upon me, and woe unto me if I preach not the gospel." There are indeed matters of qualification
that need to be factored in, but I believe that there is this call of God and a burden
to preach that He places. And I don't think this is just a career one
chooses; I think it is a calling that chooses you. Bingham: So how does an individual know that
that calling is upon their life? Is it just because they cannot imagine doing
anything else? Charles: I believe there is this sense of
burden to preach, but I also believe that this calling is affirmed in the context of
the local church. And I believe that if there is this call on
your life, there will be this evidence. And that evidence needs to be affirmed in
the context of a local church, where elders and members are examining the life, examining
convictions, and examining giftedness for the ministry. I think those two together help chart a person
down the right path. Bingham: Well, I think you survived the lightning
round. So, congratulations! Charles: Yeah! Well, good deal. Bingham: Yeah, yeah. Charles: There's no bell or anything... Bingham: Yeah, yeah, there's no bell. There's no bell, but you did survive. Charles: Good deal! Bingham: Perhaps, tell us... take advantage
of this opportunity because a call to pastoral ministry has come up, just sharing your journey
into pastoral ministry and perhaps even if you reflect back on that, what advice would
you even give to that individual that was asking that question? What advice would you give to a younger person
that's about to go into ministry, perhaps it's even the advice your father shared with
you, but? Charles: Sure. So my story is unique, and I would not advise
my path for others. I was a boy preacher, and I hear others talk
about running from the call to ministry. And I have no framework for what that is. In fact, when I hear it, I think of Jonah
and the last biblical story there of him running from a call to ministry didn't go too well. But I was... I trusted Christ as a boy, and there was a
call to preach on my life as a very young person, and it has been the only desire of
my life in that regard. My father worked very hard to go slow with
me. I would say he tried to discourage me. I would say the leaders of the church around
me gave me opportunities to serve, not pulpit stuff, but serve which, looking back, was
helpful. That pastoral leadership is servant leadership,
and they watched me and examined that. And they gave me very small opportunities,
and so this sense of calling that I had was being groomed and nurtured over time. But just to be honest, I had an irresistible
burden to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And my father was a respected pastor in the
city that we lived in, Los Angeles, so he was kind to pastors, and pastors repaid him
by preaching his son. So I did Sunday school things and you name
it all, all over the place and had opportunities to teach. I grew up with asthma, and my daddy would
say if I went outside I had an asthma attack, and I just feel like that was a conspiracy
of providence. So I ended up living in a world of books,
and it ended up being one book, the Bible, that I was consumed with. And the Lord took my father at the age of
16, and a year and a half later, the church that he served called me to succeed him at
the age of 17. I have a 17-year-old daughter, I can't imagine
a 17-year-old pastoring a church. I don't recommend it, but it is my testimony,
and I had the privilege of serving that church for eighteen years until the Lord called me
to the other side of the country. Bingham: Is there anything you would say to
that 17-year-old version of yourself if you could speak to him? Charles: Yeah, I would. If I could say something to him, I would slow
him down. I would slow him down. I would have advised him to spend more time
preparing formally for the ministry, and I wish a little earlier, God brought some godly
people in my life who just encouraged me about personal devotion. Sometimes, and maybe whatever age a minister
may find himself, if you are not careful there'll be emphasis over gift rather than devotion. And I just had godly people to encourage me
at a certain point about my communion with God in prayer and Scripture memorization and
intake of the Word of God. And I just wish that would have happened earlier
as well. Bingham: We have a question from Andrew on
YouTube. He's asking, "What do you think will be one
of the biggest challenges the church will be facing in the next few years?" Charles: Yeah, I think there are a couple
of big issues that I don't think this is... marks me as uniquely profound, I feel like
the attacks are very obvious. And the two big things is that there's just
this constant attack on the authority of the Bible, and I would say that the church has
to know where it stands and why it stands where it stands. There is this attack against the authority
of the Bible, and I think that attack against the authority of the Bible is tied to an attack
on the exclusivity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And those two factors are the whole ballgame,
if I may say it that way, and I think the challenges that we're going to see more openly
in the years to come are those two things. I think they are already at work. I believe they'll be more intense. It just seems to all be pointing in that direction. So I just think the faithful believer, the
faithful church, the faithful pastor has got to plant his flag and know where you stand,
holding on to the truth of God's Word and the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. Bingham: Another question on YouTube as well. They're asking, "What is the most theologically
accurate way to answer an atheist who asks the question, 'Who is the father of Jesus?'" Charles: Say the question again for me. Bingham: What is the most theologically accurate
way to answer an atheist who asks the question, "Who is the father of Jesus?" Charles: Yeah, so I would, in answering that
question, I would point them just to gospel language in the New Testament. And I think the most theologically accurate
way is to point to God the Father. And as I'm preaching through the Gospel of
Mark in his opening chapter, he will argue, first of all, that Jesus is the Son of God,
and he will make a tie in Mark 1:2 through 8 to the ministry of John the Baptist, and
then we get to the baptism of Jesus, where he points to God the Father affirming from
heaven that, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." I feel like a simple declaration that God
the Father is the father of the Lord Jesus Christ is a clear and simple and gospel way
to point to the truth about Jesus Christ. Bingham: Raul on Facebook is asking, "How
can I share my faith with the LGBT community?" Charles: So I usually, in my preaching pattern,
go from a New Testament book to some shorter series on a theme, and then Old Testament
in that cycle. So I will be working through that cycle as
I finish Mark, but I would... I'm eager to get back to the New Testament,
God willing, to work through for my congregation, 1 Peter. I just think it's a vital book for our time. Peter is addressing Christians who are in
a culture where there is this growing hostility against the faith. And I think, when you asked me about evangelism,
what comes to my mind is the 1 Peter 3 passage where Peter exhorts the saints to set apart
the Lord Jesus Christ as holy in your heart and always be ready to give an answer to anyone
who asks you the reason why you have placed your hope in Christ, and to do so with gentleness
and with respect. And he says that they're going to malign you,
but you'll be able to, with a good conscience, so live that that they'll have nothing to
blame you with. I really think those biblical New Testament
principles are key to sharing your faith with anyone at this point in a culture where there
is a growing hostility against what we believe in the Word of God. Bingham: Levi on the YouTube is asking, "What
should I do if my career has become an idol?" Charles: Well, personally as a pastor, I regularly
in my prayer time, quote, unquote, "resign" the church. And there is obviously these sinful things
of the world that can become idols in the heart, but there are good things that can
become idols. And there is this constant confession of sin
and the offering of our lives to God and all that that consists of. And I just think in believing prayer as we
worship God, as we confess our sins to God, as we are bringing our needs to God, I just
think there's this constant offering of ourselves and the temptations of our hearts that are
not just sinful things, they are good things. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul gives this
list of his pre-Christian life, and these are things he had to count loss so that he
could gain Christ, and none of these are negative things. These are things that that he would've cherished. He, in his own language, said these are things
that "were gain to me." And I think there is this constant process
of our spiritual life where we need to walk ourselves through our résumé. Whatever it is that we are tempted to put,
in the language of Philippians 3, put confidence in the flesh, and submit those things to the
lordship of Jesus Christ. I think that's an ongoing process, be it work,
be it ministry, be it family. Whatever it is, we must make sure we're seeking
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness above everything else. Bingham: Well, if you're new to Ligonier ministries,
I want to let you know that if you visit ask.ligonier.org/offer, we would be pleased to send you a free copy
of Dr. R.C. Sproul's new booklet God is Holy. If you've never read anything from Dr. Sproul
or been exposed to his teaching, this is a wonderful resource to introduce you to his
ministry. So that web address again is ask.ligonier.org/offer. Well, we have more questions coming in. This one from Facebook, "What people have
been most formative in your life and ministry?" Charles: We don't have enough time. I have been blessed and benefited by the investment
that many people have made in my life. I would say, just mentioning a couple, is
my own father under whose preaching I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and who was a mentor,
hero, pastor, shepherd to me. And I am still, all of these years after his
death, benefiting from the spiritual investment he made in me. There is another pastor who has gone on to
glory, Dr. E.K. Bailey, who is the first African-American pastor I heard do expository preaching. And I didn't even know to call it that, but
I remember just leaving that service and saying, "Whatever that was that he just did, explaining
the Bible, I want to commit my life to doing that." And from afar he mentored me, shepherded me
by his preaching, by the example of his church, and in his later years I got a chance to get
to know him better. My own pastor in Los Angeles, I started pastoring
at a young age, but I was convinced that, and still am, that every pastor needs a pastor. And there is a pastor who kind of took me
under his wing, mentored me, became a father figure to me and to my wife. My children don't know him as my pastor, he's
grandfather to them. And another major influence in my life was
and is Dr. John MacArthur. As a young pastor, I came up under a theological
matter that came up in my church and saw an advertisement for one of his books and went
and bought it and just started reading and reading and reading, and helped me think through
matters of a biblical philosophy of ministry and the final authority of God's Word in every
matter. And I'm still, again in God's gracious providence,
I have got to Dr. MacArthur over the years and am still being mentored and blessed by
his ministry. Bingham: We have a question here from Twitter,
"Does God love everyone or just Christians?" Charles: Well, John 3:16 says, "God so loved
the world," and at the same time the psalmist is telling us that God is a righteous God,
and He is indignant toward the wicked every day. God, in a unique and special way, has set
His love on those whom He has chosen to redeem through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is those who are in Christ that are His
special, beloved children. Bingham: Okay another question here, this
time from Facebook, "What is the best way to grow spiritually as a Christian?" I think I might know the two things you might
say. Charles: Oh my goodness, yeah! I believe again this a great question, and
I feel like the temptation is to find some exotic answer. But the two pillars of the Christian faith
are prayer and the ministry of the Word. If you were ask me about Christian ministry,
I would say the same thing "prayer and Scripture intake." And I think Psalm 1 comes to my mind, where
the psalmist just begins the Psalms by just offering you a blessed life, and that blessed
life is rooted in the Word of God, "one who delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates
on it day and night." Prayer is one of the neglected resources of
the Christian life. And in Hebrews chapter 4, we are told that
we have, in the Lord Jesus Christ, a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. He is not a high priest that can't sympathize
with our weakness but has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin. And because of our high priest and His finished
work, we can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. I don't think we understand the remarkable
privilege prayer is. It is not some burdensome duty to obey. It is a wonderful privilege to enjoy, and
prayer brings its rewards because God answers prayer. But there is its own reward that comes from
communion with God in prayer, in thanksgiving, in confession, in intercession. And that tied alongside to the Word of God
that is a lamp for our feet and a light for pathway, Psalm 119:105, are the fundamental
means. Anything else would be the things you add
on, to supplement, to build on, to develop. But the core has to start with prayer and
Scripture. Bingham: How would you encourage someone that
comes to you and says, "I'm struggling to pray," or "I'm struggling in trying to be
faithful in reading the Scriptures," knowing that those two things are so vital? How would you speak to them? Charles: Yes, so I do think that... well,
I think there ought to be an awkwardness, a struggle to... I am nervous when people talk too comfortably
about, for instance, prayer as if it is some way similar to the conversation you and I
are having here. There should be this sense that we are having
an audience with the living God. Also, the struggle is a healthy thing, because
I believe it reflects the significance of prayer and Scripture that the world and the
flesh and the devil come against these fundamental things. We can read social media and get lost in it
for an extended period of time and get bored, you know, when we start reading the chapter
from the Bible. We could talk to our friends about our problem
for an hour and get sleepy, you know, on the second line in the Lord's Prayer. I think there is a spiritual warfare because
the enemy of our souls would have us to come against him with puny weapons rather than
the power of God's Word and the power of prayer. I would say that one of the reasons why prayer
and Scripture intake are a struggle is because these are spiritual disciplines, as the language
is, these are spiritual disciplines. And if you have not been, you know, in the
gym, you don't just go in the gym and just pick up the biggest weights. It is as you are in the gym day in and day
out, regularly doing the reps that muscle develops, and strength grows. And I really do feel like sometimes... it
some seems like a crude answer, but I feel like some people find it hard to pray because
we don't pray, and we find it hard to read the Bible because we don't read the Bible. And I believe their prayer and Scripture intake
are acquired tastes, and they have their, there is this appetite that is developed for
the Word of God the more you feed on it. 1 Peter chapter 2 says something interesting. It says, "Lay aside all malice and deceit,
envy, hypocrisy and slander, and as newborn infants crave the pure spiritual milk of the
Word that you may grow thereby." But he first said there are things you need
to get rid of as well, which suggests that if my heart's attitude toward the Word of
God is not what it should be, it will ruin my appetite for the Word, and I think it will
ruin my appetite toward prayer. So I really do think that another key to overcoming
those struggles is the simple prayer of Psalm 19 verse 14, to keep asking God, "Let the
words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight." Bingham: Could you tell I haven't been to
the gym recently? Charles: Ha, ha... same here. Bingham: We have David on Twitter, he's asking,
"Can you please speak to the current topic of women as preachers/pastors?" Charles: Can I speak to the current topic? Bingham: Yeah, there's been a lot of discussion,
particularly online, about the role of women in the church. Maybe just share your thoughts about the proper
role or biblical role of women in the church. Charles: Sure, so I am a complementarian,
and I believe the office of the pastor, elder, overseer is reserved in Scripture, with good
reason from God, for qualified men. I also believe that that office is also tied
to certain functions. And I think that the 1 Timothy 2 passage where
Paul says, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority," this is referring
to, not the language there is not merely to an office but a function associated with the
office, which I believe means that on the Lord's Day gathering of God's people, one
of the qualified men who is affirmed as the elder should be the teacher-preacher of the
Word of God. I believe, of course, God gifts women. Gifts have no gender, and I don't... I think the church should do better at affirming
that in the ways that God uses women. And at the same time, I don't think that we
should, which I feel, succumb to the pressure of the culture to try to water down what Scripture
says and what God has designed for the home and for the church to be for His glory. Bingham: Brian on Facebook, he's asking, "Is
listening to various sermons each day the same as studying God's Word?" So perhaps they are listening to podcasts,
various things, but they're not opening the Bible themselves. Charles: Yeah, so I believe it's vital to
have primary contact with the Scriptures themselves. And I think it could be helpful and healthy
to be listening to faithful teachers of the Word of God, but that should be a supplement
to your own reading of God's Word, meditation on God's Word, memorization of God's Word. And I believe that a layperson with whatever
skills he or she may have, should be seeking for themselves to understand the Word of God. I think that every member of the church should
have the spirit of the Bereans, you know, in the Book of Acts where they are searching
the Scriptures for themselves to see those things that are true. I believe that process is aided and helped
and encouraged by faithful men who teach the Word of God, and I think it's a wonderful
thing that access to so much good material is available like all of the resources available
through Ligonier, but that should be a supplement, it should not replace your own time in the
Word of God. Bingham: Rudy on YouTube is asking, "What
is the most challenging obstacle you have faced in ministry, and how did you overcome
it?" Charles: So, I was a young man called to my
first church, and I was very naïve in that I thought you open the Bible and teach the
Bible, and the people hear the truth of the Bible and we line up according to what the
Bible says. And the first time I got into a deacons' meeting
and heard somebody say, "Yeah junior, but I know the Bible says, but... " I felt the reality of the church. So this has been my context. I haven't been out in the world to have those
experiences as a part of my testimony, but early in my ministry I experienced just the
challenge of institutional church in power struggles, and I saw in that regard how ugly
church can be in the name of the Lord. But at the same time, I speak of those days
fondly because those things taught me to pray, taught me to preach, taught me to be a shepherd,
and there is a lot of talk these days about church hurt. I feel like, you know in Philippians Paul
says, "If anyone has more reason to put confidence in the flesh, I have more." If anyone wants to talk about church hurt
I'd say, you know, "Bring it on. I got, I'm sure I got a story to top yours." But in the midst of those same experiences,
I saw the, what the church should be in the midst of all of the failings and weaknesses
of the church. I literally had saints who just committed,
"I'm going to pray for you and hold you up, and we're not going to let you fall," in the
midst of the pressure and those who stand against the preaching of God's Word. And so I've seen even in those moments of
challenge in ministry, I've seen the power of God's Word work, I've seen the fellowship
of the saints be real and sweet, and the hope of the gospel at the same time that, and so
I'm grateful for both those good days and bad days blended in together. Bingham: As a pastor and with the experience
that you have, no doubt you've had a lot of people come to going through very difficult
times and trials. Recently I was with a group of people that
were raising money for suicide prevention among youth and those kinds of tragedies or
terminal illnesses, you know, face a lot of people. People that are watching live tonight that
are perhaps in a difficult place like that, perhaps someone has just received a diagnosis
of a terminal illness. If they are a believer, what is your encouragement
to them as they're facing a dark time, a dark trial? Charles: Sure. So I am totally convinced that Romans 8:28
is true. That God in His infinitely wise providence
causes all of the things that happen in life, the best of days and the worst of days, to
cooperate for the spiritual good of those who love Him and are called according to His
purpose. And I really do think that these are, this
really does get down to a matter of trust. It is one thing to profess faith, it is another
thing to live out that faith when the circumstances of life tumble in. And I think the promises of Scripture are
anchors for the soul. I have a family in my church directly affected
by the shootings in Virginia Beach and to talk to that member this week, and that member
holding on to the promises of God, looking to Jesus for hope, and standing on the Word
in the midst of what is an absolute tragedy, it's just been a reminder for me of God's
faithfulness. We quote that passage so often, Lamentations
3 is a word of hope in the midst of a book where the writer is singing the blues, in
the midst of tragedy. And yet he says, "This I recall to mind, and
therefore I have hope," and he turns his attention Godward, God's compassion, God's mercy, God's
faithfulness. And that would be what I would say to a person
going through, that God is faithful. Bingham: We have a question here on YouTube,
"Should a layperson attempt to "reform," quote, unquote, a church? How do I know whether to stay or whether to
go?" Charles: Yeah, those are not always easy questions. So, I would not draw a hard line. I think this is a James 1 and 5 matter where
you are going to have to ask God for wisdom, but I would just affirm there are times where
the right thing to do is to hang in there and contend for the faith and use whatever
godly influence you have to help point the church in the right direction, to be an encouragement
to the leaders, to point them to truth. There are other settings where that just won't
be possible, and that it might not be healthy for that believer to stay in that setting. And that may be a very difficult decision,
but there are times when the best thing to do is to... also not an easy decision, and
also you also want to guard your witness and not be quarrelsome. And sometimes the best thing to do is for
you to relocate and join another communion that is faithful to the truth. But I don't know if it's a hard category to
sell a person over a screen when to stay and when to go. This is a matter where you truly need James
1 and 5, the wisdom of God to know what is right. Bingham: We have a lot of questions is still
coming in, so are you game for us to turn to another lightning round? Charles: Sure. Bingham: Okay, alright. We're going to do another lightning round,
but I want to let you know that if we don't get to your question this evening, when you
have biblical and theological questions, we do have a team of well-trained agents literally
spread in many continents to be able to answer your biblical and theological questions 6
days a week, 24 hours, 6 days a week. So whenever you have questions about the Bible,
you can always ask Ligonier, and you can find all the ways that you can ask that team of
Ask Ligonier agents your questions by visiting ask.ligonier.org. Well Pastor Charles, let's turn to this lightning
round. We've got a question here on YouTube, and
the question is, "Is baptism necessary for salvation?" Charles: Is baptism necessary for salvation? I would quote, again, Ephesians chapter 2
verses 8 and 9, and we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, plus or minus nothing. I do believe that baptism is a way that we
go public with our faith, and it is a public declaration of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
but it is... baptism is not essential to salvation. We are saved by the finished work of Christ
alone. Bingham: So not to be neglected, but not necessary
for salvation. Charles: Yes, absolutely. Bingham: Christian on YouTube is asking, "Do
you think that we are seeing an increase in solid expository preaching in the, quote,
"American church"? Charles: Yes, yes I do. I would say there is a greater openness to
expository preaching in the American church. I would also say that... pause to say that
I am most encouraged by young men who are entering the ministry and who are, right up
front, settled that the faithful way to handle God's Word is through biblical exposition,
and so it makes me all the more encouraged for the days to come. I also think, however, that I just pray for
-- the encouraging signs I'm grateful for -- but I just pray for revival with the preaching
of God's Word all the more, as we are seeing a change, overt change in the culture away
from biblical truth. I just feel like there needs to be more faithful
preachers, faithful churches proclaiming the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Bingham: Amen. Charles: Yup. Bingham: Jerry on YouTube is asking, "Why
is expository preaching so important?" Charles: So, if I could give a list of lecture
or reasons I give in talks about this matter, but simply I believe that expository preaching
is so significant because 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 come after 2 Timothy chapter
3 verses 16 and 17. The end of 2 Timothy 3 says, "All Scripture
is breathed out by God, and is profitable for teaching and rebuke and correction and
instruction in righteousness," and it is on the other the side of that built on that foundation
of the nature, the truth, the authority, the clarity, the sufficiency of God's Word that
he issues this charge to Timothy to preach the Word. My conviction is that how a man preaches betrays
his conviction about the Bible. If the Bible is the Word of God, there is
no other faithful way to preach it than to seek to understand what the Scripture means
by what it says and to faithfully explain it to the saints of God and exhort them to
live in faith and obedience. I really do think that expositional preaching
is not just another style of preaching that we can choose from, and one chooses this way
one chooses another way. I think exposition matters because preaching
reflects convictions about the Scripture. And I think that exposition is the most faithful
way to let the Word of God speak for itself. Bingham: Noah on YouTube is asking, "How can
I get closer to God?" Charles: You won't mind then if I repeat an
answer that I have given to a previous question. I believe, as I've said to a question or two
before, that prayer is vital to drawing near to God. I believe Bible intake -- reading it, meditating
on it, studying it, memorizing it, is vital to drawing closer to God. I also believe that being a participating
member of a local church is vital to being drawn closer to God. I think that for the growth of the believer,
I need to be under the authority of shepherds in a local church, and I am being fed a consistent
diet of God's Word. I need to be in fellowship with other believers
so that Hebrews 10:24 and 25, I am having others to stir me up to love and good works. There is a level of maturity and service and
obedience that I will not reach unless other believers are stirring me up. And also me exercising the gifts that God
has placed in me for the building up and edifying of others, I think is a part of that process
of my own spiritual development. And so, I don't think... I keep mentioning prayer and Scripture, but
I don't believe that, you know, I have Jesus and the Reformation Study Bible and that's
all I need. I need to be practicing spiritual disciplines
most definitely, but I need to be a participating member of the body of Christ, for my own growth,
for my witness, and for obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and the instructions of His Word. Bingham: Willie on Twitter is asking, "How
do you carry out discipleship and evangelism in your church?" Charles: So, first of all, we are just a non-apologetically
preaching-teaching church. So that is the starting place for us, and
I think that's key to the disciple-making process. We are to go and make disciples of all the
nations, the Great Commission teaches us, and then mark them as disciples by baptizing
them, and then after that it's just one long process of teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. So, there are a lot of things churches get
involved in to draw crowds, but to make disciples there must be a heavy emphasis of teaching
the Word of God. But I also think the emphasis there in the
Great Commission is life-on-life discipleship. So it is to teach them not to fill up a notebook
or to learn a body of knowledge. The goal of the teaching, Jesus says in the
Great Commission, is to teach them to observe, or to obey, or to practice, or to live, all
that I have commanded you. And there's a sense in which this is a life-
on-life discipleship. "You all have walked and talked with me, and
I have laid down these commandments, so you are to pass them on." And so, I would say, in terms of disciple
making, we try to do those two things. Our public meetings for worship emphasize
the teaching of God's Word, and we also have settings where we are encouraging fellowship
around the Word of God in Bible study fellowship groups where life-on-life, the saints are
learning to pray together and serve one another, but it is in the context of fellowship around
the Word of God. Bingham: Alright, another question here on
Facebook, "How important is it to know what view you hold about the end times?" Charles: I think it's important. I would say the Bible starts somewhere and
the Bible ends somewhere, and I would say in that regard it's significant for us to
understand Genesis and have an understanding of the Book of Revelation as well. So I think this is not a matter, and I think
this is again Matthew 4:4 that "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word
that proceeds out of the mouth of God," and there is much that Scripture says about it,
and as much as God's Word says about... says much about it, it should be our priority to
know what it says. Bingham: And we even mentioned this before
we were live tonight, talking about the Book of Revelation and just sang "Jesus Wins." Charles: Jesus wins. That's right. Bingham: Andre on Facebook is asking, and
we'll make this the last question for the lightning round, "How do you biblically balance
your busy ministry life with properly managing your home well?" Maybe it's a difficult question to answer
in ninety seconds. But how do you balance your ministry and home
life? Charles: Sure. I have, I'll punt at my coverage and am blessed
to be married to a wonderful wife, who I can't wait to leave here and get home to, so that
makes that very easy in that regard. I am just drawn to the times that I get with
my wife and children. And I don't really have much of a social life. They do, and so I spend as much time as I
can tagging along with my wife and children, who I enjoy being with. In that regard also, my wife has been especially
helpful just in encouraging, there are times, emphasis, projects I need to pay attention
to, and she kind of encourages me when I need that. And she also encourages me about the breaks
I need and the times I need to shift my attention away from that. And I just try to make a clear line between
home and work. And my principal devotionally is from Matthew
6:33. I try to just constantly be in prayer to put
first what the Lord would have me to put first, when the Lord tells me to put it first, and
just be open to His wisdom about that. Bingham: Well, if we had the bell, we'd ring
it and say, "This is the end of lightning round." I'm thankful you're away from your wife and
your family right now because you're here in the Ligonier campus, because you're recording
a teaching series with us. You're going to be exploring some of the doxologies
and benedictions of Scripture. Maybe give us a taste of what we will learn
in that series. What's so important about the benedictions
or doxologies? Charles: Absolutely. So, I am grateful and excited to be doing
this series on passages in the Bible that declare the benedictions of God and are doxologies
declaring the glory of God. These are statements of praise, but they are
also teaching tools in the Scriptures. And one of the blessed Scriptures there in
Ephesians 3 that we'll study is to build our faith in prayer. One in 1 Thessalonians 5 is to call us to
holiness and to sanctification. One in Hebrews 13 is an assurance that the
great Shepherd will equip us with whatever we need to do His will. And so the doxologies of Scripture and the
benedictions of Scripture are important for the church to know and to understand and to
embrace because they point us Godward in worship and in dependence in our walk of faith and
obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. And they really do meet us at every stage
and sphere of life that we find ourselves in and really affirm the sufficiency of God
and His grace and His strength and His help and His greatness for every need of life. Bingham: We really look forward to being able
to share that with our Ligonier students next year. So, thank you for having time away to be able
to spend it with us and record that series. We have a question now, "How should Christians
think about racial divisions in the U.S., and how should we respond biblically?" Charles: Yeah, so this is a matter that just
is burdensome to me to watch. So much division that continues and at certain
points seems to increase. What comes to my mind directly is Ephesians
chapter 2 and the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is our peace and that
by His finished work at the cross He has broken down the wall of hostility, and He has made
Jew and Gentile one. The gospel is a message of reconciliation. It is first a message of reconciliation between
a holy God and sinful man. And in a real sense it seems as if even in
that Ephesians 2 passage, that the evidence that this is God's work in Christ is seen
in how He reconciles people who would have had nothing to do with each other, but He
has made those who are separated for all of their reasons a new people and made them one
in Christ. And so it's a vital issue. In too many instances, I think these days,
we abandon the truth of God's Word for other means of unity and direction, and they are
doomed to fail. I feel like in other instances, we put too
much emphasis on our culture and our taste and our preference and so dishonor, I believe,
the work that Christ has done to make us one. I also just think as brothers and sisters
in Christ, there is a compassion toward each other and a love toward one another that should
mark us and be evident to the watching world that unfortunately is missing as cultural,
racial, and political stuff get tied up in there, and we lose the centrality of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've been in Jacksonville eleven years now. Five years ago our predominantly black church
merged with a predominantly white church, and it has been at times a challenge, but
it has been such a blessing because even as a pastor, you could say we're about the gospel,
but it sure forces you to live what you say. And as we have done life together around the
Word of God, we're a family of believers, and it's just a reminder that the gospel works. And as we live together and serve together
and suffer together, I'm seeing how the gospel makes us one and unfortunately, that just
is not evident when we're arguing over Twitter or something like that. So, I feel like the church in America has
a long way to go, and I feel like our gospel witness is at stake about how seriously we
take these matters. But you cannot fix those matters in any way
by abandoning the authority of God's Word, the exclusivity of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the sufficiency of His saving work in the gospel. Bingham: One final question before we end
tonight. This is a question coming from Facebook, "My
mother has cancer and she is afraid that she's going to hell because she cannot forgive,
and she hates my grandfather." I have tried to help her. What can I say? It's a very heavy final question. Charles: It is. I would say pray hard for God to soften that
person's heart, and I would use every opportunity to talk to that person about what Jesus has
done at the cross, which again is the basis, it's a little bit tied to what we were just
talking about racism that God, who after all of our offense, who has forgiven us, is the
grounds for forgiveness to others. And so I would just say pray for a softened
heart and faithfully and winsomely share what Christ has done and trust God to do the rest. Bingham: Well Pastor Charles, thank you so
much for your time this evening. It's been a real pleasure and a joy. Charles: Thank you, Nathan. It's been a joy to be with you. Bingham: Well, when you have biblical and
theological questions, remember that you can always ask Ligonier. We do have a team of well-trained agents available
24 hours a day, 6 days a week. To learn all the ways that you can ask Ligonier. Simply visit ask.ligonier.org. Well, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and I look forward
to seeing you next time.
